Graduate Student Handbook

VI. QUALIFYING PAPERS

C. SIGN ON AND SIGN OFF MEETINGS – ALL STUDENTS

a. Sign-On Meeting – Upon approval of the QP or Second Year Paper committee members, the student schedules a meeting with the committee to discuss the content and direction of the project. This meeting lasts approximately one hour. During the meeting, committee members and the student should discuss and agree upon the research question and conceptual framing of the project as well as the data and methods (when relevant). The committee members and the student should also agree to a written timeline for the proposed work and for communication between the student and committee members (e.g., a progress report every month or two, monthly meeting with the lead reader, etc.). Upon successful completion of the sign-on meeting, the committee members and the Graduate Director sign the Second Year Paper, QP 1, or QP 2 proposal form. This form should be submitted to the sociology graduate administrator.
At the end of the QP sign-on meeting, the committee members should discuss the division of labor and work plan for supervising the student (e.g., work closely with the primary reader before distributing to other committee members, send all drafts to all committee members simultaneously, etc.).

b. Sign-Off Meeting – Upon approval of the QP committee members, the student schedules a final sign-off meeting with the committee. This meeting is scheduled only after the student has completed and revised the qualifying paper in consultation with the committee members. (The process of writing a qualifying paper typically involves multiple drafts and recurrent interaction with your committee members as agreed upon in the sign-on meeting). During the meeting, the student briefly presents the key results and conclusions of the research (about five minutes). The student and committee members discuss whether there are remaining issues to be addressed before the committee agrees to “sign off” on the paper, and discuss strategies for moving the paper toward publication or inclusion in future work (e.g., dissertation). Upon successful completion of the meeting, the committee members and the Graduate Director sign the Second Year Paper sign off form or Qualifying Paper sign off form as well as the MA or PhD Candidacy form. For the Final Qualifying Paper options 2, and 4, the sign off process will take place as the end of a successful oral defense. For option 3, the paper’s submission to an academic publication serves as the sign off process. All option completion forms will first be submitted to the graduate administrator, followed by a signature by the graduate director.

c. Students Entering with an M.A./M.S. from another Program

The department does not accept a prior Master’s thesis in lieu of one of our qualifying papers. A student entering the Rutgers graduate program in sociology with an M.A. or M.S. who wrote a thesis may, however, use his/her thesis as the basis for one qualifying paper. To do so, the student assembles a three-reader committee that reads the thesis and provides feedback on the steps required to make the work into a qualifying paper that meets departmental standards. The conditions may range from minor to more substantial revisions in content, approach, style, methods, etc. All restrictions on committee membership noted above apply.

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VI. QUALIFYING PAPERS

B. 2013-2018 COHORTS

1. Standards and Expectations

A. Qualifying Papers (1 and 2)

A qualifying paper (QP) is a piece of original research (empirical or theoretical) that is ideally the first step toward a publication. A QP, particularly the first QP, is part of the learning process about how to conduct original research that contributes to the discipline. Many QPs ultimately become published journal articles or components of a larger product (e.g., dissertation or book).

a. Qualifying Paper Proposal - Before beginning a qualifying paper, students must write a short (typically about 5 page) proposal. The proposal should: specify the research question; discuss the potential contribution of the work to sociology relative to past research; and provide a timeline of the proposed work. For empirical QPs, the proposal additionally describes the data to be collected or analyzed and the proposed method of analysis. QPs using quantitative secondary data analysis should include a discussion (or table) describing the proposed dependent, independent, and control variables. The QP proposal should be submitted to your reading committee for feedback and revision before scheduling a QP sign-on meeting (see information on QP sign-on meeting in section VI.C).

b. Content of the Qualifying Paper - A qualifying paper should be similar to a single journal article in the scope of the research question (i.e., well focused and delimited), data, and findings as well as in its length. As such, a QP is typically 20-30 pages long plus any references, endnotes, tables, and appendices (as relevant). Each paper should demonstrate a careful and thorough consideration of a sociological problem and clearly articulate the contribution of the research to the discipline. One of the qualifying papers may be theoretical but at least one QP must be empirical. QPs can use any substantive and/or methodological approach (e.g., analysis of survey data, textual analysis, interviews, fieldwork). As such, they vary in style and structure. (Note that if your project involves research with human subjects, you must get IRB approval before collecting any data). We encourage you to take the Writing Seminar when you are working to complete your first QP because this facilitates the development and completion of the qualifying paper. To ensure breadth and proficiency in more than a single sub-area of sociology, the two qualifying papers must focus on topics that are significantly different from one another. The committee structure (see section below) helps ensure that the foci of the QPs are distinct.

c. Committee Structure - Each committee has a lead reader and two secondary readers. The lead readers for the two qualifying papers must be different. In addition, the two QP committees may have only a one-reader overlap. Thus, the two qualifying paper committees together include five or six different faculty members per graduate student. This structure encourages intellectual and methodological breadth, and ensures that each student interacts intellectually with multiple faculty members. Committee members may include regular sociology faculty and one affiliated graduate faculty member in sociology.

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VI. QUALIFYING PAPERS

A. Qualifying Paper #1 (aka Master’s Thesis, or Second-Year Paper)

a. Qualifying Paper #1 is a piece of original empirical research that is ideally the first step toward a publication. This paper is an integral part of the learning process about how to conduct original research that contributes to the discipline. Many such papers ultimately become published journal articles or components of a larger product (e.g., dissertation or book), but it is not required that the paper reaches that level of excellence before being approved for the purpose of degree completion.

Before beginning the second-year paper, students must write a short (about 5-10 page) proposal, to be presented before and discussed with a three-person committee of faculty members (see below for more details). The proposal should specify the research question(s), discuss the potential contribution of the work to sociology relative to past research, and provide a timeline of the proposed work. For empirical papers, the proposal additionally describes the data collected or analyzed and the proposed method of analysis. Papers using quantitative secondary data analysis should include a discussion (or table) describing the proposed dependent, independent, and control variables. The proposal should be submitted to your reading committee (see information on committee structure below) for feedback and revision before scheduling a sign-on meeting (see information on sign-on meeting in section VI, subsection C).

Regarding the expected content of the QP1, it should be similar to a single journal article in the scope of the research question (i.e., well focused and delimited), data, and findings, as well as in its length. As such, it is typically 6000-9000 words long, plus any references, endnotes, tables, and appendices (as relevant). The paper should demonstrate a careful and thorough consideration of a sociological problem and clearly articulate the contribution of the research to the discipline. This paper must be empirical (or in rare instances, theoretical), and can use any substantive and/or methodological approach (e.g., analysis of survey data, textual analysis, interviews, field work). Accordingly, they vary in style and structure. [Note that if the project involves research with human subjects, the student must get IRB approval or an exemption before collecting any data.] Each second-year student will be required to take the Second Year Paper Seminar to facilitate the paper’s development and completion.

b. Committee Structure for QP1: QP1 requires a three-person committee, so that the student develops connections with a somewhat diverse array of advisors. By contrast, all versions of QP2 require only (as a minimum) two committee members. At least one of the readers on QP2 must be new relative to the composition of the committee for QP1, so that each student works with a minimum of four faculty advisors over the two papers. This structure also supports students’ intellectual and methodological breadth.

c. Sign On and Sign Off Meetings

i. Sign-On Meeting – With the approval of the QP1 committee members, the student schedules a sign-on meeting with the committee to discuss the content and direction of the project. This meeting typically lasts approximately one hour. During the meeting, committee members and the student should discuss and agree upon the research question and conceptual framing of the project as well as the data and methods (when relevant). The committee members and the student should also agree to a written timeline for the proposed work and for communication between the student and committee members (e.g., a progress report every month or two, monthly meeting with the lead reader, etc.). It is also highly advisable for the student and the committee to discuss whether the student might intend to use QP1 as a component of their dissertation, as this can affect the way the work is carried out and the kind of feedback the faculty provide. Upon successful completion of the sign-on meeting, the committee members and the Graduate Director sign the QP 1 proposal form, available through DocuSign. This form should be submitted to the department’s Graduate Program Coordinator. At the end of the QP1 sign-on meeting, the committee members should discuss the division of labor and work plan for supervising the student (e.g., work closely with the primary reader before distributing to other committee members, send all drafts to all readers simultaneously, etc.).

ii. Sign-Off Meeting – Upon completion of a suitable draft of the paper, and upon the approval of the QP1 committee members, the student schedules a final sign-off meeting with the committee. Again, this meeting is scheduled only after the student has completed and revised the Qualifying Paper in consultation with the committee members. (The process of writing a Qualifying Paper typically involves multiple drafts and recurrent interaction with your committee members as agreed upon in the sign-on meeting). During the meeting, the student briefly presents the key results and conclusions of the research (about five minutes). The student and committee members discuss whether there are remaining issues to be addressed before the committee agrees to “sign off” on (i.e., approve) the paper, and discuss strategies for moving the paper toward publication or inclusion in future work (e.g., the dissertation). Upon successful completion of the meeting, the committee members and the Graduate Director sign the Second Year Paper sign-off form. Upon completion of QP1, the student will also have an M.A. candidacy form to complete.

d. Students Entering with an M.A./M.S. from another Program
The department does not accept a prior Master’s thesis in lieu of one of our Qualifying Papers. A student entering the Rutgers graduate program in sociology with an M.A. or M.S. who wrote a thesis may, however, use his/her thesis as the basis for one qualifying paper. To do so, the student assembles a three-reader committee that reads the thesis and provides feedback on the steps required to make the work into a Qualifying Paper that meets departmental standards. The conditions may range from minor to more substantial revisions in content, approach, style, methods, etc. All restrictions on committee membership noted above apply.

B. Qualifying Paper 2 (aka QP2, aka Second Qualifying Paper or Second Qualifying Project)

The Second Qualifying Paper (QP2) may be completed in four different ways. These four options allow students some flexibility in achieving optimal preparation with respect to their future career goals. A minimum of two readers is required for all versions of QP2. At least two readers must be sociology graduate faculty.

a. Research Paper Option with a two-person committee. The goal of this type of QP2 is to produce a sole-authored piece worthy of being submitted for publication. It may be recommended for students intent on a career in academia rather than those committed to careers outside academia. There can be only one overlap in the membership of the committee for QP1 and the committee for QP2. The one permitted overlap cannot serve as chair for both committees. Please note: As always, if your project involves research with human subjects, you must get IRB approval before collecting any data.

b. Qualifying Examinations Option. Write and orally defend Qualifying Examinations in two substantive areas. There is flexibility in defining the terms, but normally this would be a take-home written examination, composed over several days or as much as one week, in a general area of scholarship, e.g. Environmental Sociology, combined with a more specialized literature and knowledge, such as Environmental Justice or the Sociology of Climate Change; or Social Network Analysis, and applications of networks to health or to the production of culture. The student may choose more independent areas if they wish. The student has two committee members who first approve an appropriate reading list for the exam’s content. It is typical for a student to take several months to (at most) a year to master this reading list of material. The committee composes the questions and evaluates the responses in the written document and for the oral defense. The examination typically consists of 2-5 questions with a 25- to 30-page document as the final product. This option may hasten students’ progress, but it can also be useful for students who wish to pursue a career in academia and need to be grounded in core sets of literature for the job market.

c. Collaborative Research Paper Option. This option pairs the graduate student with two faculty members who supervise the student on a research and writing project, at least one of whom will become a co-author (second author) on a multi-author article submission. The student is responsible for writing a complete first draft of the paper with supportive advice from at least one faculty member who will eventually act as second author. That sole-authored draft is what will be evaluated as QP2. Responsibility for other tasks that may be part of the collaborative project—data collection, data cleaning, literature review, etc.—should be explicitly spelled out in advance. This model of QP2 provides the student with close mentoring regarding the research and publishing processes, while also evaluating them on a sole-authored draft of what will eventually become a co-authored article. The paper may be theoretical empirically-based, or a systematic review.

d. Analytical Review Option. Write and orally defend a critical review of a particular sociological topic or topics as determined by a two-person faculty committee and the student. They work collaboratively to define the scope of the review and evaluate its content. The review should have one or more orientating question(s) that serve to structure the review. The objective would be to write a critical synthesis of likely more than one literature (or several specific areas of a large literature) to answer the orienting questions. In the process, the students might identify the main themes over time, debates, and gaps in the literatures, as well as how might several distinct literatures (different disciplines or subdisciplines), be integrated to generate new insights and research agendas. This review of 30 or so pages might be used to generate course syllabi, dissertation literature review, background for social policy recommendations, or a review paper project. The review must be designed for academic audiences. Simple summaries like an annotated bibliography would be insufficient. An approximate model would be a draft of an Annual Review piece, for examples please see https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/soc.  

 e. Committee Structure for QP2: Unlike QP1, all options for completing QP2 require only a two-person committee, who must be graduate sociology faculty. Students may add a third or fourth member to the committee if they wish, but there is no requirement to do so. However, at least one of the sociology faculty readers on QP2 must be new relative to the composition of the committee for QP1, so that each student works with a minimum of four faculty advisors over the two papers. As noted earlier, this structure encourages intellectual and methodological breadth.

f. Sign On and Sign Off Meetings

i. Sign-On Meeting – The sign-on and sign-off meeting process works pretty much identically for QP2 as it does for QP1. With the approval of the QP2 committee members, the student schedules a sign-on meeting with the committee to discuss the content and direction of the project. This meeting typically lasts approximately one hour. During the meeting, committee members and the student should discuss and agree upon the research question and conceptual framing of the project as well as the data and methods (when relevant). The committee members and the student should also agree to a written timeline for the proposed work and for communication between the student and committee members (e.g., a progress report every month or two, monthly meeting with the lead reader, whether or not to send all drafts to all readers simultaneously, etc.). It is also highly advisable—even more so than for QP1—for the student and the committee to discuss whether, and how, the student intends to use QP2 as a component of their dissertation, as this will affect the way the work is carried out and the kind of feedback the faculty provide. Upon successful completion of the sign-on meeting, the committee members and the Graduate Program Director sign the QP2 proposal form, available through DocuSign at Final QP2 Sign On Proposal Form.] This form should be submitted to the department’s Graduate Program Coordinator.  

ii. Sign-Off Meeting – Upon approval of the QP2 committee members, the student schedules a final sign-off meeting with the committee. This meeting is scheduled only after the student has completed and revised the paper in consultation with the committee members. [Except for the Qualifying Exams option, the process of writing a qualifying paper typically involves multiple drafts and recurrent interaction with your committee members as agreed upon in the sign-on meeting.] During the meeting, the student briefly presents the key results and conclusions of the research (about ten to fifteen minutes, perhaps longer). Members of the committee will ask questions concerning the content of the written work produced. The student and committee members discuss whether there are remaining issues to be addressed before the committee agrees to “sign off” on (i.e., approve) the project, and discuss strategies for moving the paper toward publication or inclusion in future work (e.g., dissertation). Upon successful completion of the meeting, the committee members and the Graduate Director sign the QP2 Sign Off Defense Form. Upon completion of QP2, the student should also fill out the Ph.D. candidacy form.

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D. Course Information: Independent Studies, and Courses Outside the Department

This section contains information on some of the various courses one can take, and restrictions concerning them.

a. Independent Studies

Independent Studies are based on arrangements made between a professor and one or more graduate students to study a mutually-agreed-upon subject for one semester.  In order to register for an Independent Study, the student (in consultation with the professor) must compile a syllabus that specifies the required reading and writing requirements as well as the meeting schedule. This syllabus must be submitted to the Graduate Program Director for approval.  Independent studies are considered as equivalent to seminars in workload and hence they count as elective courses for your degree requirements. They are not meant to give structure to or substitute for an ongoing collaborative project between faculty member and student.  Students may take no more than two Independent Studies during their time in the graduate program, one counted toward the M.A. requirements and one toward the Ph.D. requirements.  [Also please note that Independent Study courses do not count as part of the faculty member’s normal teaching load.]

b. Courses Outside of the Sociology Department

i. Number of outside courses - Students may take up to three courses in total outside of the Sociology Department (in other Rutgers departments, at other Rutgers campuses, or at Inter-University Consortium schools) that count toward their overall elective requirements.  Specifically, that is to say that they may take 1-2 for the M.A. degree requirements and 1-2 for the Ph.D. degree requirements, but totaling no more than three overall.  These “outside” courses include methods or substantive courses in other departments at Rutgers—New Brunswick, courses at other Rutgers campuses (for example, at Newark), and courses offered at other universities through the InterUniversity Doctoral Consortium.  Some certificate programs at Rutgers may require students to take non-Sociology courses; please be attentive to those requirements as you consider your overall program of study, including how you will make use of the InterUniversity Doctoral Consortium.  Please consult the Graduate Program Director at any time if you have questions.  Our goal is to permit each student to pursue a program of study that maximally serves their intellectual needs while also ensuring that a sufficient portion of each student’s curriculum is responsibly delivered by our own department.

ii. Inter-University Doctoral Consortium Courses - Graduate students at Rutgers may take graduate courses at several other universities in the region (e.g., Columbia University, CUNY-Graduate Center, the New School, New York University, Princeton University) at no extra cost.  Many students find these courses to be significantly important in their intellectual development, and we encourage you to seek out stimulating opportunities. Enrollment in courses at other institutions through this program requires the permission of the student’s advisor, the Sociology Graduate Director, and the instructor of the course at the host institution. Students in their first year may not be eligible.  The form required to register for courses in the consortium is available on the Graduate School webpage.  As noted before, these classes count as courses taken outside the department.  

c. Grades and Incompletes

i. Grades - You must receive grades of A, B+, or B in 14 of the 16 required and elective courses to receive a Ph.D. All required courses must have a B or higher. [Note: Rutgers does not have A+ or any minus grades.]

ii. Incompletes - We strongly discourage students from taking an Incomplete in a course. Having an Incomplete frequently impairs a student’s ability to complete subsequent work on time. If a student is unable to complete all the requirements for a course, the instructor may assign a grade of Incomplete if they think the circumstances are warranted. The Graduate School requires that a student make up the work for an Incomplete within twelve months of the end of semester in which the incomplete grade was assigned (e.g., an Incomplete in a course from the fall semester 2023 must be completed and the grade turned in by the end of the grading period for the fall semester 2024).  Excessive Incompletes: Any student with more than two Incompletes in any given semester will face discontinuation from the program. SGS requires that a student with 2 incompletes has only one semester to reduce the Incompletes to one. Any student who has not made-up their final Incomplete within one year will face discontinuation from the program. 

d. Transfer of Credits

Students may apply to transfer up to 12 credits towards the MA degree requirements at Rutgers. Students may apply to transfer an additional 12 credits towards the PhD degree requirements. Often the number allowed is somewhat less, to ensure you are sufficiently engaged with the curriculum we offer.  These credits may be used for required or elective courses in the degree program upon approval of the Graduate Director.  All transfer courses must be regular numerically graded or letter-graded classes (not courses graded satisfactory/unsatisfactory or pass/fail).  Courses with grades below B cannot be transferred for credit in our program.  Individually arranged reading courses are also not accepted for transfer credit.  Please note: The transfer of credit can only be made after completion of 12 graduate credits at Rutgers.  However, speak with the Graduate Program Director in advance to start making plans for the transfer of credits to take place once it can be effected.  Also please note that the School of Graduate Studies generally does not approve any credits to be transferred for the degree at Rutgers for courses that were taken more than 6 years before the transfer request.

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